Free fruit and veg for toddlers/

[Hulababy]

linknews.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3492939.stm\free vouchers{} for fruit and veggies for low income familes. What do you think?

[Hulababy]

Oops

free vouchers

[hmb]

Sounds like a good idea, as long as the vouchers can be redeemed anywhere, so as to avoid stigmatising/ limiting shopping choice. Anything that makes it easier for the poorest people in society to get a better diet would be a good thing. Better still for them not to be so poor Not sure about that powdered milk thing those. I'm assuming that the don't mean for powdered baby milk?? That would contradict the breast is best message....and it is free (and I had to bottle feed, so please don't call me a nazi )

[twiglett]

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[twiglett]

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[twiglett]

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[Hulababy]

Wonder why it is more for children under 1 than over 1 years. Surely children over 1 years would eat more???

[Hulababy]

Nursery children also get free fruit there under the scheme - which is good as I think many snacks in nursery are often milk and biscuit.

Sure the milk is 'proper' milk not formula. I remember formula had to be paid for at the HV clinic. Not 100% though.

[hmb]

About the same time that I did

True though.....and food tech doesn't do what cookery lessons used to.

Didn't clock it was so little. Some better than none I suppose

[Hulababy]

I suppose it is only there to feed the children their fruit and veg but still don't think it is enough to get them their 5 portions a day is it?

[BadHair]

I don't understand why only pregnant women under 18 get them. Why not all pregnant women?

[Hulababy]

I thought that too. It could at least be means tested for older mums.

[hmb]

Just did a quick search on Saisburys on line (and granted you can shop cheaper than s's) £2.83 will buy you a kilo of carrots, and savoy cabbage and a value bag of 1.5 kg apple (which would be about 10). So it doesn't come near to 5 a day. That said the five a day don't have to be fresh. Any fresh stuff would be a help I suppose, even if it isn't enough

[jenie]

Great idea, just like the one about giving children £250 in a bank account that they can access when their 18 (or it may be a bit older not sure) pitty our children have missed out on both of them

How many of these "poor" mothers will actually spend the money on fruit and veg and how many will sell the fruit and veg to anyone who'll have it just for the cash?

[hmb]

I would have thought that most parents want the best for their children. Just because someone is poor it doesn't make them a bad parent. To suggest so is ofensive. I suppose that some parents might do this if they were alcoholic/drug addicts/abusive. But if that is the case then having a poor diet is the least of the children's worries. And being poor doesn't make you like that, any more than being rich does.

[dinosaur]

I agree, hmb. I also can't really imagine a parent who was desperate enough for the tiny amount of cash that would bring in, being organised enough to go and get the fruit & veg in the first place and then find someone to buy it!

Jenie, I don't know what age your child/ren are but both of mine (aged two and four) get free fruit at school/nursery.

[BadHair]

I wonder if the vouchers can be used at markets and independent greengrocers? You get loads more fruit and veg for your money there than at supermarkets, where you pay mostly for the plastic packaging. And if you find a good local grocer the produce is much fresher than the stuff that's been shipped halfway round the country to get to Tescos.
The incurable cynic in me has a feeling that the vouchers will only be redeemable at supermarkets or big name shops though.

[Hulababy]

I too suspect it'll only be a key places too as they will have to have the facility to redeem them. Any one know what happens with milk vouchers - where can they be used?

[Angeliz]

lol twiglett

[pie]

FTR: milk tokens can only be redeemed against milk, not anything else. Well all the big supermarkets anyway. You sometimes see local shops that will take them for anything but they don't for long as they do get into trouble. You can redeem them in any shop that will take them. I suspect it will be the same with the veg & fruit tokens.

And the powdered milk IS formula, there is a big picture of it on them.

[Hulababy]

You are right Pie - yes it is formula too.

Found this too. Vouchers for bf mums.

[misdee]

if you are a bf mother on the current milk token scheme u get tokens for fresh milk (7 pints a week) for yourself instead of the powdered milk. u just state this at the benefits office.

[zebra]

They were saying on radio that the vouchers will be redeemable at local green grocers, but the vouchers will be for milk or fresh produce -- up to the person to do their own combination. I can see people buying no more f+veg this way.

[bobthebaby]

I'm glad to see an attempt to provide an incentive to bfeed. My ds could only have a hypoallergenic formula if he was on formula, which is almost $100NZ per tin and I would be subsidised and only have to pay $4NZ. What do I get for avoiding all the things he is allergic to and breastfeeding him? Diddly. The whole point of the subsidy is that mothers with allergic children shouldn't have to pay more - except those who breastfeed obviously! I would love to have vouchers to buy food for myself.

[Paula71]

Great news I say! The WFTC screwed up our initial application so we never got vouchers when ds twins were on formula milk, but all of a sudden, after they noticed we weren't getting the right allowance we now get milk vouchers. I must admit to being a bit embarrassed until a friend pointed out that up until I had had the boys I paid a fair whack of tax (worked from age of 16.) Still, there is a stigma attached to the vouchers.

I wonder if it is £2.80 per child as,like Twiglett said, it won't get you much (even in West Lothian, it is a lie only Londoners pay more for everything!) The hobbits have a voracious appetite and love their fruit - veg on the other hand needs to be hidden!

[stupidgirl]

It's not very much, but basically it's just an extention of the free milk scheme. The £2.80 figure is because that's meant to be the price of 7 pints of milk, which is what the vouchers currently cover. So basically it;s the same, but you are able to spend it on more things.

I am one of the 'poorer' mothers who will benefit from it (and I will be spending it on veggies jenie). It will make a big difference to me. The vouchers I get for milk are useless to me as I don't drink milk, and the kids don't drink much, so they don't get used. Being able to spend them on veg means that I can actually get some use out of them.